The former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling has warned that leaving the EU without a Brexit deal would be “absolute madness”.
Speaking exclusively to Business Insider, Lord Darling of Roulanish — who served in the last Labour government during the global financial crisis — said those pushing for Britain to walk away from negotiations were “romantic little Englanders and buccaneering free traders.”
He told BI that Britain must maintain close customs and trading relationships with Europe after Brexit.
“I’ve always been in favour of an open trading relationship with Europe, and indeed the rest of the world,” told Business Insider in late May.
“I can’t see how you could work without a customs union.
“You certainly can’t resolve the Irish border problem without one. I can’t really see how you can’t work with the single market either.”
On Wednesday, MPs will vote in the House of Commons on an amendment that would force Theresa May’s government to take steps to keep Britain in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit. Numerous Conservative MPs are expected to vote for the motion.
The vote forms part of two days of votes on up to 15 amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill, May’s flagship legislation for implementing Brexit.
‘Salvage what we can’
While relations between Britain and the EU have been strained since the country voted to leave, Darling argued that May’s government should try “to salvage what we can” by negotiating a sensible exit.
However, he accused those pushing for a total break from those ties, of putting such a deal at risk.
“The problem is you’ve got a mix of romantic little Englanders and buccaneering free traders who believe we can roam the world — except in Europe — striking trade deals,” he said.
These “buccaneering free traders” are particularly problematic, Darling says, because their world view does not reflect the reality of global trade in the 21st century.
“You’ll find that most countries tend to stick up for their own [when striking trade deals],” Darling said, pointing to the fact that the EU and India have been negotiating a trade a deal since 2007, but have failed to strike a deal due to both sides’ unwillingness to compromise.
Darling — who was the UK’s trade minister for just over a year — in particular rebuked those Brexiteers who argue that Britain should be willing to leave the EU with no deal at all, in line with Prime Minister Theresa May’s “No deal is better than a bad deal” mantra.
“It would be absolute madness to crash out with no deal. There are about three countries in the world who rely on the WTO, and they’re all very small, underdeveloped countries,” he said.
“If you cut yourself off, or impair your relationship with nearly half your market, you can’t help but question just how far away the sunny uplands are going to be,
“Everybody has got deals, because they recognise they’ve got to trade.”
Darling’s assertion is actually an overestimation of the number of countries trading solely under WTO rules, with an analysis last year finding that only one sovereign state, the west African nation of Mauritania, relies on those rules alone.
The economic damage caused by such a decision, Darling said, could be enormous.
“If you cut yourself off, or impair your relationship with nearly half your market, you can’t help but question just how far away the sunny uplands are going to be,
” Darling said, referencing a now infamous speech by Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom.
Some Brexiteers have argued that economic damage in the short term is a price Britain should be willing to pay for the future benefits of leaving the EU, but Darling disagrees.
“I don’t think you can look at 5 or 10 years [economic] badness, and take the view of ‘Don’t worry, it will be fine in 10 years’ time.’ 10 years is a lifetime,” he said.
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